Luis Yanza (born 1962 in
Gualaceo
Gualaceo, nicknamed “El Jardin del Azuay” (The Garden of Azuay), is a canton in the sierra region of Ecuador in the Azuay Province. It is located 35 km east from the city of Cuenca and is one of the biggest cities in Azuay.
Gualaceo ha ...
) is an environmental activist from Ecuador, of
Cofán descent. He serves as president of the
Frente de Defensa de la Amazonia (Amazon Defense Front), an NGO representing the interests of the
campesinos and
indigenous peoples in Ecuador
Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, or Native Ecuadorians, are the groups of people who were present in what became Ecuador before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term also includes their descendants from the time of the Spanish conque ...
.
[Saavedra, Luis Ángel]
"Ecuador: Chevron Strikes Back."
''Eurasia Review.'' (retrieved 20 March 2011)
Honors
Yanza received the
Goldman Environment Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...
in 2008, along with
Pablo Fajardo Mendoza.
[
] The two have been organizing indigenous communities in Ecuador to fight against international oil companies, in order to clean up devastated areas in the Ecuadorian jungle, which has become polluted from years of oil production.
Yanza and Fajardo's publication of the environmental effects from oil production has led to stronger environmental protection laws in Ecuador.
[
]
Legal action
As president of the Frente de Defensa de la Amazonia, Yanza has spearheaded a multibillion-dollar class action lawsuit against Chevron-Texaco for its environmental damage in Ecuador. With Steven Donziger
Steven R. Donziger (born September 14, 1961) is an American attorney known for his legal battles with Chevron, particularly '' Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc.'' and other cases in which he represented over 30,000 farmers and indigenous people who suffer ...
and others, he represented 30,000 indigenous people and farmers affected by the Lago Agrio oil field
The Lago Agrio oil field is an oil-rich area near the city of Nueva Loja in the province of Sucumbíos, Ecuador. It is located in the Western Oriente Basin. The site's hydrocarbon-bearing formations are the Cretaceous Napo and Hollin formation ...
. Yanza stated that the "trial is not about accidental damages. We´re talking about harm to people and the environment that was done in a deliberate manner."[
The Ecuadorian courts, which were originally requested by Chevron, ruled in favour of the plaintiffs on three occasions. After being ordered to pay $9.5 billion, Chevron refused and presented a defence that Ecuadorian judge Nicolás Zambrano accepted a $500,000 bribe in exchange for ruling against them.]
Notes
References
*Handler, Marisa
''Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist.''
San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2007. .
External links
Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza
profile and video
1962 births
Living people
People from Gualaceo
Ecuadorian environmentalists
Indigenous people of the Amazon
Indigenous activists of the Americas
Goldman Environmental Prize awardees
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